.s. >>> a post-debate formittromneyhashim leading in at leastonepoll. asurvey by pew research shows mitt romney now holds a 4-point lead over the president, 49% to 45%. it amounts to a huge swing for the former governor who trailed the president by 8 points in pew's previous poll, just about a month ago, 51-43. the poll shows romney's favorability is rising and he is making gains among women and hispanic voters. >>> mitt romney and president obama will be campaigning in the heartland today. romney will be visiting iowa. it will be the gop nominee easily seventh trip to iowa since finishing second in that state's caucuses in january. romney will visit ohio where the president will be this afternoon. mr. obama will be at ohio state university in columbus. he has campaigned on more than 30 college campuses this year. the first lady campaigning for the president today here in northern virginia. michelle obama will speak to supporters at the loudoun county fairgrounds in leesburg this evening. virginia has been a common stop for both candidates and their spouses. mitt romney and his wife ann

onepoll. anewsewurveyshowsromneyholdingthe lead, 49% to 45%. the governor trailed the president last month. the poll shows romney's favoribility is rising and he's making gains among women and hispanic voters. mitt romney and president obama will be campaigning in the heartland today. romney is in iowa this morning. it's his seventh trip to iowa since finishing second in january. romney will also be stopping by ohio where the president will be this afternoon. mr. obama will be at ohio state university in cluolumbus. he's campaigned on 30 college campuses this year. >>> the first lady is campaigning in northern virginia. she will speak to supporters at the loudoun county fairgrounds this evening. virginia has been a common stop for both candidates and their spouses. mitt romney and his wife made multiple stops there yesterday. the first lady's event opens to the public at 2:45 this afternoon. >>> people who live in the district, today is the last day you can register to vote by mail. applications are available online and at public libraries, firehouses and police stations. if you

thatpollthatago regated the midwest which i don't think includes of course, virginia, thatshowedromneyupby five over president obama. that doesn't break it down state by state. we'll have the numbers as soon as we get them. >> we'll see you right back here at 4:00. steve handelsman. thank you so much. >>> in court today, a judge warned the former d.c. council chair kwame brown, don't tempt fate with the violation of the terms of his release. he was placed under a curfew and ordered to make weekly visits with officials. he had to go back to court after failing three time to make required weekly phone calls to check in. brown pleaded guilty in june to bank fraud and campaign finance violation. he is hoping to avoid prison time by cooperating with the prosecutors. brown will be sentenced next month. >> 11 people have now died from that meningitis outbreak linked to tainted steroid injections. the latest confirmed death happened last night in tennessee bringing that state's death toll up to six now. there have been 119 confirmed cases of meningitis across ten states. virginia has confirm

in at leastonepoll. anew survey by pew research showsmittromneynowwith a 4-point lead over the president, 49% to 45%. in the same poll taken a month ago, mitt romney actually trailed the president 8 points, 51% to 43%. now, that was just as that hidden camera video surfaced of the gop nominee's 47% comments. the new poll also contained good news for mitt romney on other fronts. his favorability now at 50% for the first time in a pew poll. and the former governor also saw gains among hispanics, women, and voters under the age of 50. >>> the race for virginia's u.s. senate seat is getting personal. tim kaine and george allen squared off in a live televised debate in richmond. allen, a republican, criticized kaine for accepting a j a chairmann governor of virginia. >> how does the governor take on a second job that sends him all over the country, giving partisan speak ofs, while over 100,000 jobs are lost in virginia? >> i'm proud of the fact that when i was governor at a very challenging time, we did a lot to bring businesses to virginia and to have a profile that was signifi

:00. >>>mittromneyhasenjoyed a boost inseveralpollsfroma strong debate performance, but it's anewpolloutthis morning of voters in swing states that may hold the most encouraging news for the former governor. the poll by nbc news, marist and "wall street journal" shows romney closing the gap in three states. ohio, florida, and right here in virginia. it is virginia that is considered one of the most importan states of this election where romney is really gaining some ground. he now leads the president there 48% to 47%. that is a three-point swing from last week when he trailed by two points. in ohio is where we're also seeing some new numbers this morning. the president still leads there, though. romney has gained two points, though, in the last week to shrink the advantage to 51-45 right now. the president also leading in florida this morning, but only by one percentage point, well within the margin of error for this poll. the only good news for the president here, it is the same lead he held during last week's poll. >> while mitt romney can't be in all key states all the time, his

pollthatshowsmittromneywitha four-point lead over president obl. back in september, just one month ago, romney trailed the president by eight points. romney tried to keep the momentum going during a campaign stop in virginia today. he spoke at a naval shipyard. he vowed not to cut military spending and he accused the p d president of lack leadership around the middle east. tomorrow, romney will go to iowa and then onto ohio. president obama is busy raising political cash in california tonight as his campaign closes in on $1 billion in donations. the president is in san francisco, preparing to go on stage just after mid night our time for a rally and fundraiser. earlier today, the president dedicated the casar chavez national monument. >> in the race for the u.s. senate, a debate tonight talking about the economy, a gridlock in congress and even big bird. >> reporter: with the richmond pbs station hosting the debate -- >> i pledge tonight not to fire big bird and not to defund public broadcasting. >> that was the only light moment in the hour-long debate. his main line of att

% to 45%. this amounts to a huge swing.thepollalsoshowsthatromney's favorabilityis rising and that he's making gains among women and hispanic voters. >>> this week republicans are focusing on winning over voters in north carolina. senators john mccain and behind day graham will be campaigning on behalf of mitt romney today in the battle ground state. house speaker john boehner will attend events for the gop presidential nominee on friday and saturday. romney himself will campaign in north carolina on thursday. he was in virginia yesterday. he told supporters in newport news that president obama would cut military spending, which will leave hundreds of thousands of virginians without a job. the president will be campaigning in ohio. he'll visit ohio state university in columbus. president obama held more than 30 campaign events on college campuses this year. he'll fly to the buckeye state from california where he wrapped up a lucrative fund-raising trip last night in san francisco. >>> another death linked to that meningitis outbreak. the centers for disease control says at

from women in both the romney and obama camps. there is one thing the obamaandromneycampaignscan agree on. women are a key to victory. until last week's debate, the gender gap strongly favored president obama. he had a double digit lead with women. now as the poll are tightening, the advantage has begun to disappear. one reason both sides are trying to energize their female supporters by turning to the candidates' spouses. ann romney was in rif mond yesterday. this is the first lady's second time in virginia in a month. >> i think she he will braces those values that women embrace and care about. and i think she definitely fires the women up. >> reporter: obama supporters waiting in line before the event say they trust the president to preserve their rights. >> equal pay for equal work. >> i have a daughter. it took a long time for women to gain what we have as far as rights. and it would be taking a giant step backward to vote in romney. i mean, he is against the right for a woman to have control over her body. >> reporter: but romney supporters says reproductive rights and othe

the hour. here's matt. >> all right, savannah, to the presidential race and anewpollshowingmittromneynowleading president obama. we'll talk about that with senator john mccain in just a couple of minutes, but first nbc's peter alexander is on the campaign trail in newport news, virginia. peter, good morning. >> reporter: matt, good morning to you. as you noted, this race appears to be tightening now with exactly four weeks to go, and on monday mitt romney, trying to present himself as a plausible commander in chief, attacked the president saying that the middle east has become a more dangerous place than when president obama took office. the latest pit stop in president obama's effort to reach his fund-raising goal of $1 billion, san francisco. >> we cannot afford to be complacent, and we cannot afford to be cynical. we've got to look back at the progress we've made, and that should give us confidence, but we have to understand that we've got a lot more to do. >> reporter: in virginia, a reinvigorated mitt romney may as we will have been singing in the rain, a downpour. >> people wo

and out of date. i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> there's anewpolloutthatsuggestsmittromney's strongdebate performance last week has improved his standing in the presidential race. the pew research center shows romney leading president obama among likely voters by a margin of 49% to 45%. three weeks ago, that same poll gave president obama an 8-point lead. >>> today the united nations secretary-general said the violence in syria is threatening the stability of the region. activists say the civil war has claimed more than 30,000 lives since it began last year, and the violence has spread beyond the borders. syrian mortars have landed in turkey. for six straight days turkey has launched retaliatory strikes. and warned syria not to test his resolve. he said turkey is ready for war. >>> posters considered so controversial they might incite violence are now hanging in several metro stations. news4's jackie bensen is at the u street station with reactions from riders and from the woman who is behind this campaign. >> reporter: well, the judge ordered the posters to be installed b

friends and defeat our enemies in the middle east when the words are not backed up by deeds.>>>romneyisclosing the gap in the latest poll according to the politico/george washington university poll. if the election were held today, 49% would vote for the president and 48% would vote for romney. today, he'll announce the establishment of the caesar chavez national monument. yesterday, the president spoke at a fund-raising concert. he poked a little fun at himself, at his recent debate performance. >> everybody here is incredible professionals. they just perform flawlessly night after night. i can't always say the same. >> tomorrow, the president will hit the campaign trail in ohio. >> after last week, there's a lot more riding on this thursday's vice presidential debate, that's for sure. vice president joe biden has taken a break from the campaign to prepare. biden has suggestled he wants to address the differences between himself and his republican counterpart. a week after president obama's lake laughter performance in his debate with mitt romney. >>> kid rock is joining republican

. >>> this morning, republican presidential hopefulmittromneyisclosing the gap in thelatestpoll. accordingto the politico/george washington university poll, if the election were held today, 49% of americans would vote for the president, and 48% would vote for romney. today mitt romney will deliver a major foreign policy speech. the speech, called the mental of leadership, is the candidate's tenth foreign policy address since 2011. the former massachusetts governor links the attack on the american consulate in benghazi last month to al qaeda saying, "the attacks on america last month should not be seen as random acts. they are expressions of a larger struggle playing out across the middle east. these attacks were the deliberate work of terrorists who use violence to impose their dark ideology on others." >>> today president obama will wrap up his two-day fund-raising trip in california. he will also announce the establishment of the cesar chavez national monument. at a concert, he poked fun at himself in a recent debate performance. >> everyone here is incredible professionals, such great

. this comesasromneyclosesin on president obama's lead inthepolls. nbc'stracie potts live on capitol hill with the latest. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: aaron, good morning. good morning, everyone. he'll be at virginia military institute, his ninth address since summer before last on foreign policy. he expects to draw differences -- show differences, draw a contrast between himself and president obama on a number of issues. key points, including hot spots is syria, libya, egypt. he's expected to talk about having a strong military without cuts to defense, and israel being a strong ally of the united states. specifically on libya, he will say that al qaeda was behind the deaths of our ambassador and three others there, that it was the deliberate work of terrorists -- that's a quote from the advance of his speech -- not the video that's been talked about so much and that it was the same group that attacked on 9/11. on syria, he will urge america to arm the rebels who may end up being in a position of authority there. and in egypt, he will suggest tying the $1 billion in aid we giv

to plan parenthood. earlier thisweek,romneytold"the des moines register" that if elected, he would not pursue abortion related legislation. the obama campaign quickly pounced saying he was hiding his stance on women's issues. >> a new poll by nbc news, marist and "the wall street journal" shows the former governor gaining ground in three swing states. romney gained two points since last week in ohio to shrink the gap. in florida, it's just a point lead for the president, 48% to 47%. but it's right here in virginia where mitt romney is seeing the biggest gains hesm now leads the president. last week he trailed by two points. >>> this morning police are stepping up patrols on a popular hiking and biking trail in montgomery county after a series of attacks. montgomery county police say two attack on the capital crescent trail may be linked. they say a teenager grabbed two other teens on september 29th in bethesda and tried to rob them. on friday, police arrested a 16-year-old from rockville in the case. they believe the attack may be linked to a robbery in the same tunnel that happene

as anewpollshowsromneyhastrimmed his opponent's advantage to four points. >> i need you fired up. i need you ready to go to vote because we've got some work to do. we've got an election to win. everything that we fought for in 2008 is on the line in 2012. >> reporter: ohio is the closest thing to a must-win battleground for both campaigns no. republican president has won the white house without t.obtuse, romney waded into an explosive social issue telling "the des moines register" as president he would not pursue any legislation with regards to abortion, an apparent shift on an issue the obama campaign has tried to use against him. the president's campaign pounced writing we know the truth about where he stands on a woman's right to choose. meanwhile, the campaign's "sesame street" sideshow has turned into a regular feature. will.i.am opened the president's rally yesterday with a familiar theme ♪ sunny day." >> somebody is finally getting tough on big bird. who knew that he was driving our deficit? >> he's focused on saving big is kind of a strange thing in my view because, you se

for offense. anewpollreleasedlate this afternoon showed president obama's once large lead in ohio has shrunk to just four points. touching down on akron on the last day ohioans will vote. mitt romney will campaign here four of the last five days. the president just wrapped up his 17th rally here, more than any other state. >> do not delay, go vote today. what do you think? all right, buckeyes, we need you. >> reporter: why all the attention on ohio? no republican has won the white house without it. romney advisers insist the race has fundamentally changed here since last week. just weeks ago, the campaign briefly considered its path forward without ohio. >> we feel it's going to be close again until the end, but we feel we have an enthusiasm edge working in our favor. >> reporter: consider the electoral map, if romney loses ohio's 18 electoral votes, he needs to win six of the remaining seven swing states. all of which voted for mr. obama four years ago. after being dominated on the airwaves this summer, and painted romney as an out of touch corporate raider, the romney campaign is in